NBA All-Star Friday Night Open Thread

NBA All-Star weekend is here, and although Saturday night’s contests and the main event Sunday night are the usual headliners, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy Friday night’s festivities.

Here are tonight’s schedule of events, featuring Philadelphia’s very own Tyrese Maxey.

NBA All-Star Celebrity Game - 7:00pm ET - ESPN

Bill Walton and Dominique Wilkins are coaching this year’s game. Maybe we’ll get some sound bites reminiscent of Walton’s late night PAC-12 broadcasts. Here are the list of participants. I recognize about a quarter of them, which I imagine officially makes me an old person. Anyway, enjoy watching “Cleveland Cavaliers legend” Booby Gibson.

Team Walton:

• Jimmie Allen (singer, songwriter)
• Brittney Elena (host, actress, athlete and model)
• Machine Gun Kelly (singer, songwriter)
• Dearica Hamby (Las Vegas Aces forward)
• Noah Carlock (Fanatics All-In Challenge Winner)
• Nyjah Huston (Olympian, professional skateboarder)
• Matt James (ABC’s The Bachelor)
• Quavo (rapper, recording artist)
• Ranveer Singh (actor)
• Alex Toussaint (Peloton instructor)

Team Nique

• Anuel AA (rapper)
• Mayor Justin Bibb (Mayor of Cleveland)
• Kane Brown (singer, songwriter)
• Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns defensive end)
• Booby Gibson (Cleveland Cavaliers legend)
• Tiffany Haddish (comedian, actress and author)
• Jack Harlow (rapper, recording artist)
• Crissa Jackson (Harlem Globetrotters player)
• Anjali Ranadivé (singer, songwriter)
• Gianmarco Tamberi (Olympic high jump champion)

Rising Stars - 9:00pm ET - TNT

Two hours later on a different channel, we have something more closely approximating NBA basketball. As a reminder, this competition has a different format this year. Instead of being rookies against sophomores, or Team USA against Team World, there are four teams of rookies, sophomores, and G League Ignite players thrown together. They will play two games to 50 points, and then a third game to 25 points. I’m hopeful the target score setting will encourage some modicum of defense to be played, rather than a 151-138 finish or whatever we usually get in this game. Here are the rosters:

Team Barry

• Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
• Dyson Daniels, G League Ignite
• Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Isaac Okoro, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
• Jae’Sean Tate, Houston Rockets
• Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic

Team Isiah

• Precious Achiuwa, Toronto Raptors
• Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies
• Saddiq Bey, Detroit Pistons
• Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento Kings
• Jaden Hardy, G League Ignite
• Isaiah Stewart, Detroit Pistons

Team Payton

• LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
• Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
• Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls
• Chris Duarte, Indiana Pacers (Injured, will not play)
• Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite
• Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors (Injury replacement for Duarte)
• Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Davion Mitchell, Sacramento Kings

Team Worthy

• Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic
• MarJon Beauchamp, G League Ignite
• Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder
• Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
• Herbert Jones, New Orleans Pelicans
• Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
• Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic

Maxey’s squad doesn’t have a lot of roster balance, featuring five guards, 6-foot-6 Beauchamp, and 6-foot-8 Herb Jones. These contests are usually track meets, though, so maybe it will work to their advantage.

Enjoy tonight’s events and follow along with your LB friends and frenemies in the comments.